New Computer Lab To Help Lehigh Students Change Image Science Watch

A new computer laboratory at Lehigh University that replaces T-squares, compasses and protractors should give art and architecture students an edge when they enter the job market.

The computer-aided-design (CAD) laboratory even includes electronic sketch pads called digitizers that permit artists, architects or engineers to draw or trace other images.

Demand is high for architectural graduates with CAD experience and they can make twice the starting salary as those without computer training, according to Tuncer Akiner, assistant professor of art and architecture. He said the Bethlehem campus is "oneof the few U.S. universities to offer undergraduates such learning tools".

Akiner expects the equipment will help students overcome any fear they may have that computers are too complicated to operate without an extensive background in mathematics or engineering. Eventually, he expects students from many backgrounds will take advantage of the laboratory, which was installed earlier this year, primarily with a $20,000 state grant. The grant also fostered development of new CAD courses.

Students using the computers already have created libraries of components regularly used in architectural design, such as doors, windows, sinks, tables, chairs and bathtubs. The libraries free students from doing tiring, boring repetition.

"This equipment in no way replaces creativity," said Akiner. "However, it will enable students to perform drawings and drafting tasks more rapidly, and will allow them to make changes or corrections quickly and easily."

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WEATHER FORECAST ACCURACY IS REMAINING STATIONARY

The accuracy of weather forecasts hasn't improved much in the last couple of decades, according to a study by Frederick Sanders, a meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sanders found that 24-hour precipitation predictions made at MIT for the Boston area during the last 18 years were correct about 85 percent of the time. He told "Science 86" that someone who simply predicted no rain every day for Boston would be right 65 percent of the time.

Sanders said the MIT forecasts were comparable in accuracy to those of the National Weather Service during that time period.

He said short-range forecasting will always be something of a gamble, because of the complexity of weather systems. He suggested people may demand more of their weatherman than they do of other forecasters - like stock market analysts.

Dr. Gregory S. Forbes, associate professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, recently pointed out that National Weather Service forecasting costs each American just over one

dollar a year, adding "that looks like a pretty good bargain to me."

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ROBOT IMPROVEMENTS ARE CATCHING ON

Robots at AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey are catching ping pong balls on the first bounce and responding to sentences of normal human speech.

Sounds like no big deal to people raised on science fiction movies featuring robots that are indiscernible from humans. But, in fact, the mechanical man still has a way to go.

"The purpose of our research is to allow robots to plan and act in a dynamic and changing world," said Russell Andersson, a Bell Labs scientist.

The ball-catching robot at Bells' Holmdel lab tests three-dimensional vision and responsiveness. The system uses two pairs of TV cameras to monitor the half-second flight of the ping pong ball. A micro-processor computes the trajectory and relays that data to the robot arm, which moves into position to catch the ball in a cup.

The voice-activated robot at the Murray Hill lab tests sensory perception and speech recognition. It understands a 51-word vocabulary and has an ultrasonic range-finder to locate objects. Soon it will have a camera to enhance its "vision" and a synthetic voice so it can converse with its controllers.

While neither of these robots resembles humans in any way, how far off can the world's first robotic major league pitcher really be?

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CHERNOBYL RADIATION SHOULDN'T INCREASE RISK OF CANCER

Radiation from the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the U.S.S.R. will not cause a detectable increase in cancer cases in the United States,according to the American College of Radiology.

The radiologists also said pregnant woman and their fetuses in this country face no increased danger, nursing mothers should have no concern about the safety of their milk, and there will be no increase in genetic damage.

Those conclusions are based on estimates from atmospheric nuclear testing, since "scant data" is available about the amounts and precise nature of fission products released into the atmosphere following the April 26 accident.

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WINNING THE NOBEL COULD BE TAXING

The United States may become the first country in the world to tax Nobel Prize winning scientists.

Both the U.S. House and Senate are considering tax reform legislation that would delete special exemptions for Nobel and similar cash awards given in recognition of achievements in science, charities and the arts.